MICROGREEN BUSINESS GUIDE · LAFAYETTE, CA

Start a microgreen business in Lafayette, CA.

Most people in Lafayette assume a town this affluent already has its local food covered. It does not. The upscale kitchens along Mt. Diablo Boulevard plating microgreens are mostly buying them from distributors who cut the product days earlier and shipped it in. The Lafayette grower who delivers same-morning trays steps into a premium spot nobody local is working yet.

Quick Answer

You can start a microgreen business in Lafayette with under $400 in initial equipment and grow it into a $3,000 to $8,000 per month side income within 90 days. Here is the local demand picture, the unit economics, and the operating system used by working microgreen farms.

When you walk the restaurants along Mt. Diablo Boulevard and ask where their microgreens come from, how often do you hear the name of a grower from the Lamorinda area instead of a distribution route?

What Lafayette buys today

Lafayette anchors the affluent Lamorinda area alongside Moraga and Orinda, with one of the highest household incomes in the East Bay. That wealth lands directly at the table, where ingredient-driven restaurants along Mt. Diablo Boulevard pay a premium for fresh, locally cut garnish.

The city runs a popular weekly farmers market that pulls a committed, higher-income crowd, giving a new grower a direct-to-consumer outlet from the start. The neighboring Lamorinda towns and the larger Walnut Creek dining scene put dozens more kitchens within a short drive of one Lafayette grow space.

The inland valley climate runs warm in summer and cool in winter, so a spare room or insulated garage holds the 65 to 75 degree window microgreens want far more cheaply than fighting the outdoor swings. Once that small space is dialed in, germination stays steady year round.

If another grower locks in the Lafayette and Lamorinda kitchens over the next 90 days, what does that lost revenue add up to over the next two years?

The math, in Lafayette prices

Here is what the numbers look like for a Lafayette grower selling at an affluent Lamorinda price tier.

Startup cost

$400

Trays, soil, seed, lights. Used gear cuts this in half.

Per-tray net

$20-$30

After seed, soil, packaging, delivery.

Trays per week

100

Target for $3K-$5K/mo at Lafayette pricing.

Break-even week

Week 4

First positive cash week. Most growers hit it.

What that looks like in Lafayette square footage

A 10 by 10 foot room with two vertical shelving units holds 60 to 80 active trays. That is enough to produce $3,000 to $5,000 per month in Lafayette at standard wholesale prices. A two-car garage doubles it. A basement triples it.

What would it look like six months from now if the restaurants along Mt. Diablo Boulevard and the weekly market regulars all carried your label, and your morning routine was simply cutting the trays the app flagged as ready?

Three things every working microgreen farm in Lafayette runs on

  1. A seed density and watering plan you trust. The number one cause of failed trays for new growers is over- or under-seeding. The cheat sheet inside Grown Like A Pro gives you grams per 10x20, soak hours, blackout days, harvest day, and watering for sixty-one varieties.
  2. A rotation tracker. Once you are running thirty-plus trays per week, you cannot remember what is in blackout, what is in light growth, what harvests Tuesday. A spreadsheet works for the first month. After that you need a system that pings you the day before each harvest and reorders seed before you run out.
  3. A customer + invoice layer. Restaurants in Lafayette want predictable weekly invoices and net-15 terms. Farmers market customers want clamshell tracking. Both want consistency. The app handles both.

The IKEA test

If you can follow an IKEA instruction sheet without screaming at the family, you can grow microgreens at a commercial level in Lafayette. The steps are about that difficulty: open the box, lay out the parts, follow the picture, repeat. Trays are the bookcase. Seed is the dowels.

If you ever did struggle with the IKEA bookshelf, that is exactly why Glappy lives inside the app. Glappy is the in-app coach that breaks every step down barney style, in your own language, from "how do I plant my first tray" to "why is this tray going leggy at day five and what do I do about it tonight." Type the question, get a step-by-step answer. There is no question too basic. The whole point is that a Lafayette grower starting today is not on their own.

What you are not buying

You are not buying a course. You are not buying a hype product. You are not buying seed from us, and you are not buying trays from us. We do not sell either. Grown Like A Pro is the operating system you run your Lafayette farm on. The growing happens in your basement.

Try Grown Like A Pro free for 30 days →

Lafayette microgreen FAQ

How much can I make growing microgreens in Lafayette?
A working microgreen farm in Lafayette produces $3,000 to $8,000 per month within 90 days of starting. The math: 100 trays per week, $20 to $30 net revenue per tray, harvested in a basement, garage, or spare room. The ceiling is set by how many restaurants and farmers market customers you can serve, not by the growing setup.
Is it legal to sell microgreens in CA?
Yes. In most of California, microgreens fall under the state's cottage food law for direct-to-consumer retail at farmers markets and to private customers. Restaurant wholesale typically requires a basic food handler permit. Verify with the California Department of Agriculture before you sign a wholesale contract.
What microgreens sell best in Lafayette?
Sunflower, pea shoots, and radish are the three highest-volume sellers in nearly every U.S. city, including Lafayette. Broccoli is the highest-margin variety because of its sulforaphane reputation with health-focused buyers. Specialty varieties like amaranth and shiso command premium pricing from chef-driven restaurants.
How much space do I need to grow microgreens in Lafayette?
A 10 by 10 foot room with two shelving units holds 60 to 80 active trays, which is enough to produce $3,000 to $5,000 per month. A basement, garage corner, spare bedroom, or sunroom all work in Lafayette's climate. Vertical shelving is the fastest path to higher revenue per square foot.
What is the best app for tracking microgreen production in Lafayette?
Grown Like A Pro is the operating system used by working microgreen farms in Lafayette. It handles seed density math, watering schedules, harvest timing, inventory, customer orders, and the financial side. Free 30-day trial with no credit card.
How long does it take to learn to grow microgreens commercially?
Most growers in Lafayette are selling their first trays within 30 days of starting. Commercial proficiency, meaning you can run 50-plus trays per week without losing crops to mold or under-seeding, takes 60 to 90 days. The seed density and watering math is the single biggest predictor of how fast you get there.
Do I need a license to sell microgreens in Lafayette?
For farmers market and direct-to-consumer sales in Lafayette, most growers operate under California's cottage food law with no special license. For wholesale to restaurants and grocery stores, you typically need a basic food handler permit, a sales tax permit, and depending on volume, an inspection from your county health department.
How do I price microgreens to restaurants in Lafayette?
Restaurant wholesale in Lafayette runs $1.50 to $2.50 per ounce for standard varieties, $3 to $5 per ounce for specialty varieties like shiso, micro basil, or amaranth. Sell by the pound for repeat accounts. Local fresh commands a premium over the shipped-in product that most Lafayette restaurants currently buy.

Related guides

Once you have the Lafayette math in your head, the next read is the density chart that drives every tray you plant.

Microgreens in nearby cities

← All cities